EMPATHY

Have you heard of the phrase “walk a mile in someone else’s shoes” ? This phrase means that before forming any judgement, before reacting in any way, one should try to ‘walk in the person’s shoes’ that is, understand or feel what another person is experiencing or simply, putting yourself in their place as if you were them, and feeling those feelings In the most basic language, empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

The term empathy was first introduced in 1909 by psychologist Edward B. Titchener as a translation of the German term einfühlung (meaning "feeling into").

Empathy is important because it helps us understand how others are feeling so we can respond appropriately to the situation. It is typically associated with social behavior and there is lots of research showing that greater empathy leads to more helping behavior.

WHAT IS EMPATHY

Some of the earliest explorations into the topic of empathy centered on feeling what others feel allows people to have a variety of emotional experiences. The philosopher Adam Smith suggested that sympathy allows us to experience things that we might never otherwise be able to fully feel.

Sociologist Herbert Spencer proposed that sympathy served an adaptive function and aided in the survival of the species. Empathy leads to helping behavior, which benefits social relationships. Humans are naturally social creatures. Things that aid in our relationships with other people benefit us as well.

Studies have shown that specific areas of the brain play a role in how empathy is experienced. More recent approaches focus on the cognitive and neurological processes that lie behind empathy. Researchers have found that different regions of the brain play an important role in empathy, including the anterior cingulate cortex and the anterior insula.

Research suggests that there are important neurobiological components to the experience of empathy. The activation of mirror neurons in the brain plays a part in the ability to mirror and mimic the emotional responses that people would feel if they were in similar situations.

Functional MRI research also indicates that an area of the brain known as the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) plays a critical role in the experience of empathy. Studies have found that people who have damage to this area of the brain often have difficulty recognizing emotions conveyed through facial expressions.

IMPACT OF EMPATHY

At the most basic level, there appears to be two main factors that contribute to the ability to experience empathy: genetics and socialization. Essentially, it boils down the age-old relative contributions of nature and nurture.

Parents pass down genes that contribute to overall personality, including the propensity toward sympathy, empathy, and compassion. On the other hand, people are also socialized by their parents, peers, communities, and society. How people treat others as well as how they feel about others is often a reflection of the beliefs and values that were instilled at a very young age.

HOW TO EMPATHIZE

Some people find it hard to empathize. Fortunately, empathy is a skill that you can learn and strengthen. If you would like to build your empathy skills, there are a few things that you can do:

• Work on listening to people without interrupting. Make it a point to begin conversations with people you meet and see across your day-to-day interactions. While engaging in the conversation, pay particular attention to what that person is feeling.

• Manage both the distractions and your own feelings that could easily grab your attention and work on staying emotionally attuned throughout the conversation.

• Pay attention to body language and other types of nonverbal communication. This can including tone of voice and subtle shifts in energy.

• Try to understand people, even when you don't agree with them

• Ask people questions to learn more about them and their lives

• Imagine yourself in another person's shoes

• Recognize that you can do things, however small, to make a difference in someone else's life.